Tuesday, January 26, 2016
What is Red Clay?
Weathering or decomposition of rock produces clay. Rain, wind, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other physical and chemical processes all cause weathering in one form or another. All rocks contain minerals, and when rocks containing iron oxides weather, they produce red clay. Granite and basalt are examples of rocks containing iron oxides. Red clay consists of very fine particles that are more than 1,000 times smaller than grains of sand.
Clay Composition
Clay particles contain silica (SiO2) and a mixture of other minerals, such as quartz, carbonate, aluminum oxides and iron oxides. The ratio of SiO2 to other clay minerals within clay determines clay type. Continued weathering of clay causes leaching of minerals, such as sodium, potassium, calcium and carbonate, but iron and aluminum oxides are more stable and less likely to leach out. Highly weathered clay deposits contain mostly aluminum or iron oxides, the minerals in red clay.
Clay Properties
Minerals in clay particles strongly attract water, causing particles to expand and contract in response to wet and dry conditions and temperature changes. When particles become hydrated in wet conditions, they can double in size. Buildings that are constructed on clay may suffer structural damage caused by seasonal swelling of clay. On the positive side, the oxides in clay, including red clay, also act like glue, holding soil particles together, and are useful for lining ponds and water basins.
Clay minerals also produce a charge on clay particles, causing the attraction of other ions -- charged molecules in solution -- such as pesticides and contaminants. For vegetable gardening and crop production, retention of pesticides and contaminants in clay soils could be a serious problem.
Red Clay Distribution
Red clay soils, called ultisols, are the dominant soils in the southeastern United States, and make up about 8.1 percent of the ice-free land around the globe. These soils are found mostly in humid temperate and tropical regions. Partly due to climate conditions, calcium, magnesium and potassium have leached out of these red clay soils, causing the soils to be of low fertility. Supplementation with organic matter and fertilizer, however, can easily restore the fertility of ultisols.
Red Clay Uses
The use of red clay has a long history in pigments for painting. Today, some of the clay iron oxide pigments have been replaced by synthetic compounds. Because water molecules are attracted to clay, a mixture of water and clay makes a mud that can be shaped, dried and fired into pottery and material for industrial uses. Red clay makes terracotta pottery and other types of pottery, but because red clay's iron content melts at lower temperatures than minerals in other types of clay, the strength of red clay products is lower, and industrial uses are usually limited to brick and tile.
Source link:
https://sciencing.com/red-clay-22940.html
Friday, January 22, 2016
Monday, September 7, 2015
Sunday, September 6, 2015
Ashley DeLoach, Student Work, Sculpture I
“Pompeii”
4' x 25" x 25"
Wood, air dry clay, paint.
4' x 25" x 25"
Wood, air dry clay, paint.
All my life I have collected items such as antique keys, cork bottles, coins and bottle caps.The idea of excessive multiples excites me. Formally there are ideas about repetition and space. Emotionally there are feelings of exploring and investigating the objects. For this piece I sculpted miniature forms from clay inspired by the pottery I saw when touring the ruins of Pompeii. I responded to the visual subtlety of the table structure with the miniature forms. The black united these forms so that the miniatures became part of the table and vice versa. There is also the idea about a game or a precious collection that is conveyed.
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| Small, clay forms in progress. |
Ashley DeLoach, Student Work, Sculpture I
“The Gazing Hollow”
Wood
7' x 4' x 2.5'
Wood
7' x 4' x 2.5'
Once I completed the construction of the cube, I fought with the idea that it should be painted or adorned in some way. Weeks passed and I played with several ideas, feedback from others danced in my mind. After writing about the church Santo Stefano, and doing some further research of Romanesque buildings I discovered why I was leaning toward leaving the surface in its current state of natural wood. Santo Stefano, in Assisi and many other Franciscan churches are known for simplicity. The Church of Santo Stefano has bare stonewalls, with little décor, this is entirely unlike all other churches in Italy. Even Romanesque architecture once had color but is now striped of all color and reveals its stonewalls. These structures impacted me the most in on my trip, the raw, and undecorated interior and exteriors. Along with the minimal color and décor, the large-scale structure creates a presence in its space. I wanted this piece to reflect the magnitude of the sacred spaces I visited. The idea of my piece is a direct response to the feelings I had about scale and space when visiting Romanesque architecture in Italy.
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Ashley DeLoach, Student Work, Sculpture I
“Exploding Limitations”
Wood and Yarn
approx. 5.5' x 3.5' x 3.5'
I realized it wasn’t about keeping the order and rhythm of the rest of the piece but about breaking away from the confinement of structure that holds us back. This side was like the side of me that was trying to breaking away from the order and restraint. Though I felt many raw and real emotions through this time I feel like the piece has become something chaotically ordered and beautifully messy. The yarn cascading down the front creates a dramatic contrast from the tight crossing lines of the other sides. This piece is a reflection of myself; again my subconscious was revealing mysteries that my heart knew all along.
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